Fire-resisting wall.



W. 0. BUTLER.

FIRE RESISTING WALL APPLICATION men use. 22, 1914.

1 1 98,004, Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

turn ea opt on.

WILLIAM 0. BUTLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 FI-RE-SIST PARTITION AND CEILING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION QF NEW YORK.

FIRE-RESISTING WALL.

icence.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, W'ILLIAM O; BUTLER, a subject of the King of England, residing in New York city, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Resisting Walls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to and has for a main object to provide a fire resisting wall.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fire resisting wall composed of a series of fire resisting blocks so arranged as to obstruct the passage of heat between their adjoining edges and at the same time facilitate the construction of a rigid support for such walls, and to protect such support from fire occurring on the outside of said wall. To this end, a series of main blocks are arranged with their vertical edges adjacent to one another, auxiliary blocks provided along the adjoining edges of such main blocks, which auxiliary blocks may be secured to the stud posts, and thereby the auxiliary blocks will serve not only to obstruct heat passing through the adjoining edges of the main blocks, but will in addition thereto protect the stud posts from attack by fire. Stud posts are preferably made of wood, and it will thus be seen that by this arrangement wooden stud posts can be used for such fire resisting wall without in any way endangering the efficiency of the fire resisting wall.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fire resisting wall composed of two fire resisting partitions each composed of fire resisting blocks spaced from one an other by air chambers so that if a fire should occur on one side of the fire resisting wall, the adjacent partition would first have to be destroyed before the second partition were attacked since the air in the air chambers being poor conductors of heat would serve to protect such second partition'from any appreciable increase of temperature until after such first series of blocks were destroyed. An arrangement for thus localizing the fire or rather, hindering its progress, may become of inestimable value in cases of emergency where a minutes delay of the fires progress may be sufficient to make escape possible. By actual experiment, it has been found that it takes about an hour longer to burn through two such partitions in succesone partition. And a still further object of the invention is to provide a fire resisting wall comprising wooden studs for support,

auxiliary fire resisting blocks secured to such studs, and a wall composed of a series of main fire resisting blocks secured to such auxiliary fire resisting blocks with their adjoining edges adjacent to said auxiliary blocks, and a metal covering for said main fire resisting blocks, the metal covering being composed of a series of sheets having their adjacent edges overlapping one another.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the subjoined detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of said fire resisting wall. Fig. 2 is a fragmental transverse horizontal section of a portion of said fire resisting wall. Fig. 3 is a fragmental transverse vertical section of a portion of such wall. Fig. 4 is a fragmental transverse section similar to Fig. 2 of a modification.

In the embodiment shown, there is provided a series of vertically disposed wooden studs or stud posts 10. On the shop side S of these studs or rather on the side where fire is most likely to occur, the main partition of the fire resisting wall is preferably constructed, although obviously when studs 10 are provided with this main fire resisting partition while the other sides are provided with a less substantial fire resisting partition. On the sides S of the studs 10, each stud is provided with auxiliary fire resisting asbestos sheets or blocks 11 secured to such stud in any suitable manner but preferably by nails such as the nails 25 driven through said auxiliary-blocks into said studs, such auxiliary blocks being composed of substance such as gypsum or asbestos block or the like. The longitudinal ends 12 of these blocks it will be seen from Figs. 1 and 2 extend beyond the sides of such studs 10 and serve as a deflector of the heat from thestuds. On the shop sides S of the auxiliary blocks 11 the main fire resisting asbestos sheets or blocks 13 extensive in area are secured preferably by nails 26 driven through said main-blocks and auxiliaryblocks, which main fire resisting blocks may be composed of substantially the same mate- 7 disposed substantially along the middle of the auxiliary blocks 11, as illustrated. It will thus be seen that the heated air or gases of combustion that might creep between the adjacent edges'14; would be obstructed in theirfurther' progress by the auxiliary blocks 11 andthus be prevented from 'directly striking the studs 10, and furthermore that the projecting ends '12 of the auxiliary blocks 11 would further prevent such heated air and gases from approaching the studs 10. Since air is a very'poor eonductor of heat, any heat that might pass directly into such air chambers between adjacent edges of the blocks 13 would be partially dismantled if not entirely deprived of its disastrous effect. a

As constituting the main partition of the fire resisting wall, and for which the asbestos sheets 13 form a fire-resisting backing, there is provided the sheet iron or metal sheathing composed of a series of sheets of metal 15 having the longitudinal ends 16 of one overlapping the longitudinal ends 17"of its adjacent sheet and having its lateral edges bent into channel-shaped flanges so that the lateral flange 18 of one would lap over the lateral flange 19 of the other, in Fig. 1 the wall'being shown as a, vertically extending wall and therefore the lateral edges. 18 are designated as the upper edges of the metal sheets 15 and the lateral edges 19 as the lower edges of such metal sheets 15. These metal sheets may be secured to the blocks 13 in any suitable manner but preferably by? nails 27 driven through said metal-sheets and blocks 13.

i The sides of the studs 10 which are opposite tothe sides S are designated as the hall sides or sides H of such studs 10. On these sides of the studs 10 a fire resisting partition similar to the shop side fire resisting partition maybe secured, but in the present instance we have shown a less substantial wall which is merely composed of a series of main fire resisting blocks 20 similar to the fire resisting blocks 13 and similarly arranged one adjacent to the other, but secured directly to the studs 10.

-On'the hall sides H of these fire resisting blocks 20 there is shown, in the present instance, a covering of plaster 21. I

"The reason for designating one side as a shop "side and the other side as a hall side is for convenience of description so as to distinguish that side of the fire resisting wall where the fire is most likely to occur, viz.: the shop side where manufacturing is taking place, and the place of refuge or hall side since the hallway of a building is generally such place of refuge; and therefore a wall is illustrated which is intended for an arrangement where it divides the shop from the hallway.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, there is shown a fire resisting wall havingstuds lO on the shop side of which there is formed a partition similar to the shop side partition shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and having auxiliary fire resisting blocks 11 adjacent to the studs, main fire resisting blocks 13 adj aeent to the auxiliary blocks 11 and a metal covering secured to the shop side of the blocks 13 comprising metal sheets 15, and on the hall side of the studs 10, thereis formed a partition of a somewhat diiferent construction than that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 for the hall side partition. On the hall side of the studs 10 in this construction, there are disposed directly adjacent to the studs 10 the main fire resisting blocks 20, without the interposition of auxiliary blocks 11, and on the hall side of such blocks 20, there is secured a metal covering composed of a plurality of metal sheets 23 having overlapping edges arranged similar to the metal covering 15 on the shop side of the blocks 13.

From the foregoing arrangement it will appear that the fire-resisting wall is composed of stud posts and sheet iron, auxiliary asbestos sheets covering the face of said stud posts and main asbestos sheets superposed on said auxiliary sheets and forming a fir -resisting backing for said sheet iron. Since all of these elements permit of the promiscuous driving of securing means, such as nails, through them to attach the sheet iron, mainsheets and auxiliary sheets to said stud posts and to one another, it will be seen that the ready and rapid construction and assembling of such a fire-resisting wall 1nay be accomplished by workmen of very ordinary skill. From the foregoing it likewise appears that the ready dismantling of such wall may be accomplished by an ordinary workman without impairing the several elements of this wall to any extent.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction. without departing from the general spirit of the invention.

superposed upon said auxiliary asbestos 10 posts, the sheet iron partition comprising metal sheets having their adjacent 1ongitudinal edges overlapping one another, and nails for securing the auxiliary sheets, the main sheets and the sheet iron to the stud posts and to one another.

WVILLIAM O. BUTLER.

Witnesses:

WESLEY H. TAYLOR, EMIL H. ENKINGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

